Habitat connectivity: terrestrial and marine hotspots for seabirds, chemical biotransport, and the role of seabirds in coastal ecosystems

栖息地连通性：海鸟的陆地和海洋热点、化学生物迁移以及海鸟在沿海生态系统中的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-03842
• 负责人: Mallory, Mark
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Acadia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=745800
• 关键词: Habitat; connectivity; terrestrial; marine; hotspots

In Arctic and Atlantic Canada, coastal regions perform important ecological functions and provide critical wildlife habitat, but they are subject to increasing and novel anthropogenic stressors such as development, contamination, marine traffic, and climate change. A key question for scientists, managers and politicians is “how can we predict the effects of anthropogenic stressors on coastal wildlife populations and their habitats in these areas when so few data are available on their ecology and habitat needs?” My research program will build on my lab's experience and success in remote field work to test the overall hypothesis that key coastal and marine habitats for migratory birds are predictable, and are connected through bird behaviour and ecology, which ultimately leads to chemical connectivity across different spatial scales. Specifically, during the next 5 years, my lab will: (1) identify spatio-temporal variability of important coastal and marine wildlife habitats in Arctic and Atlantic Canada through the use of colony-based ecological research, telemetry devices and paleoenvironmental approaches; and (2) examine migratory birds as biovectors of contaminants to terrestrial environments from marine foraging areas through ecosystem-wide chemical analyses. To achieve these objectives, we will undertake telemetry studies on 3 species that are virtually unstudied in these regions (terns, kittiwakes, guillemots) to identify species-, sex- and colony-specific seasonal and annual habitat use. Additionally, we will merge these data with our previously gathered telemetry information on other Arctic marine birds to identify multi-species hotspots, and assess environmental factors that might influence the spatio-temporal occurrence of these key locations. We will also examine the biotransport of nutrients and contaminants from ocean to land, and specifically we will test for spatial, species-specific and temporal variation in types and concentrations of contamination in environmental archives at bird colonies (collaborating with international leaders in paleoenvironmental and contaminant research). My research program will result in a significant advancement in locating and defining key habitats for wildlife in Arctic and Atlantic Canada and how those habitats have changed through time. This unique information is vital for environmental assessment, marine protected area and land use planning projects, and for predictive modeling of future environmental conditions in key coastal habitats. As well, the environmental data on contaminants will be critical for assessing stores of contaminants at various locations, determining how and when birds moved these contaminants at different colonies, and modelling releases of those pollutants with changing climate and concomitant processes of melt and erosion.

在加拿大北极和大西洋地区，沿海地区表现生态功能，并提供关键的野生动植物栖息地，使人为压力源（例如发育，污染，海洋交通和气候变化）等人类压力。当人们对生态学和栖息地的需求持少数数据时，人口及其在这些领域的栖息地？鸟类是可预测的D生态学，最终导致不同的空间尺度上的化学连通性。实现这些目标是虚拟的，在这些地区（terns，kittiwakes，guillemots）识别物种，性别和殖民地特定的季节性和年度栖息地。鸟类识别最终的热点，并评估环境因素，这些关键位置的时空发生。我的研究计划在野生动植物中，野生动植物的定义和定义这一唯一的档案是对环境评估的野生动植物的，对于环境评估，对野生动植物的定义至关重要。在各个位置的污染物SE污染物随着气候变化和融化过程的变化。